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How to Apply for a PhD in History?

The application deadline for the PhD Programme is in January every year. If you want your proposal to be successful, however, you’re advised to start working on your application well in advance. We recommend you follow these steps in the weeks and months before the deadline:

• If you’re interested in applying for a PhD in History, your first step is to identify a potential supervisor in the department. You can read the faculty research profiles to find a good match.
• You should then contact the Postgraduate Convenor  and/or a potential supervisor to express your interest in the PhD programme. She or he will then be able to discuss your proposed project with you and provide any feedback before you draft a research proposal.
• The research proposal is the single most important part of your PhD application. It’s where you set out the topic of your proposed project, the questions you’ll be investigating, and the methodology you’ll be using. Before drafting your proposal, you should read this guide we’ve prepared to help you write one.
• Once you’ve drafted your research proposal, you should send it to your potential supervisor. She or he will read it and provide you with feedback ahead of the application deadline.
• Once you have a polished research proposal, you can fill in the relevant application form . You can also indicate on the application form if you would like to apply for a funded studentship from the Open-Oxford-Cambridge Doctoral Training Partnership .
• You are also asked to identify two referees whom we can contact for a reference to assess your application. It’s a good idea to contact your referees well ahead of the application deadline and ensure they’re happy to provide a reference in support of your application.

What happens next?

In the days following the application deadline in January, a selection panel of members of the History Department will assess each application. The strongest applications will be shortlisted, and those applicants will be invited for an interview at The Open University’s main campus in Milton Keynes. Following the interviews, applicants will be informed of the outcome of their applications.

Competition for places in the PhD Programme is high and meeting the minimum entry requirement does not guarantee an offer of admission. It is also not always possible to identify a full supervisory team for a proposed project, regardless of how strong the proposal is and how well a candidate performs at the interview.

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Department of History

Ph.d. programs.

The Department of History’s doctoral degree program seeks to train talented historians for careers in scholarship, teaching, and beyond the academy. The department typically accepts 22 Ph.D. students per year. Additional students are enrolled through various combined programs and through HSHM.  All admitted Ph.D. students receive a  full  financial aid package  from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

History of Science and Medicine

The  Program in the History of Science and Medicine  (HSHM)  is a semi-autonomous graduate track within the Department of History. HSHM students receive degrees in History, with a concentration in the History of Science and Medicine.  There is a separate admissions process for students interested in the History of Science and Medicine. For more information, please see the  HSHM website . 

Combined Doctoral Programs

Joint ph.d. programs.

Graduate Students

Learn more about our  students' research interests and dissertation projects.

CURRENT STUDENTS

Ph.D. Program

Stanford Ph.D. Program in History aims to train world-class scholars.

Every year we admit 10-12 promising students  from a large pool of highly selective applicants. Our small cohort size allows more individual work with faculty than most graduate programs in the United States and also enables funding in one form or another available to members of each cohort.

Fields of Study

Our graduate students may specialize in 14 distinct subfields: Africa, Britain, Early Modern Europe, East Asia, Jewish History, Latin America, Medieval Europe, Modern Europe,  Ottoman Empire and Middle East, Russia/Eastern Europe, Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine, South Asia, Transnational, International, and Global History, and United States. Explore each field and their affiliates . 

The department expects most graduate students to spend no less than four and no more than six years completing the work for the Ph.D. degree. Individual students' time to degree will vary with the strength of their undergraduate preparation as well as with the particular language and research requirements of their respective Major fields.

Expectations and Degree Requirements

We expect that most graduate students will spend no less than four and no more than six years toward completing their Ph.D. Individual students' time-to-degree vary with the strength of their undergraduate preparation as well as with the particular language and research requirements of their respective subfield.

All History Ph.D. students are expected to satisfy the following degree requirements:

• Teaching: Students who enter on the Department Fellowship are required to complete 4 quarters of teaching experience by the end of their third year. Teaching experience includes teaching assistantships and teaching a Sources and Methods course on their own.
• Candidacy : Students apply for candidacy to the PhD program by the end of their second year in the program.
• Orals:  The University Orals Examination is typically taken at the beginning of the 3rd year in the program.
• Languages: Language requirements vary depending on the field of study.
• Residency Requirement : The University requi res  135 units of full-tuition residency  for PhD students. After that, students should have completed all course work and must request Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status. 

Browse the Ph.D. Handbook to learn more .

The History Department offers 5 years of financial support to PhD students.  No funding is offered for the co-terminal and terminal M.A. programs. A sample Ph.D. funding package is as follows:  

• 1st year: 3 quarters fellowship stipend and 1 summer stipend 
• 2nd year: 2 quarters TAships, 1 quarter RAship (pre-doc affiliate), and 1 summer stipend 
• 3rd year: 2 quarters TAships, 1 quarter RAship (pre-doc affiliate), and 1 summer stipend 
• 4th year: 3 quarters of RAships (pre-doc affiliate) and 1 summer stipend 
• 5th year: 3 quarters of RAships (pre-doc affiliate) and 1 summer stipend

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students  who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars  (KHS). KHS admits up to 100 select applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of your studies at Stanford. candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 11, 2023. Learn more about  KHS admission .

How to Apply

Admission to the History Graduate Programs are for Autumn quarter only.  Interested applicants can online at  https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/apply/apply-now and submit the following documents: 

• Statement of Purpose (included in Application)
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
•  Transcripts are required from all prior college level schools attended for at least one year.  A scanned copy of the official transcript is submitted as part of the online application.  Please do not mail transcripts to the department.   We will ask only the admitted students to submit actual copies of official transcripts.
• 1 Writing Sample on a historic topic (10-25 pages; sent via  Stanford's online application system  only)
• The GRE exam is not required for the autumn 2024 admission cycle
• TOEFL for all international applicants (whose primary language is not English) sent via ETS. Our University code is 4704.
• TOEFL Exemptions and Waiver information
• Application Fee Waiver
• The department is not able to provide fee waivers. Please see the link above for the available fee waivers and how to submit a request. Requests are due 2 weeks before the application deadline.

The Department of History welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field.

The Department of History also recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

Application deadline for Autumn 2024-25 is Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 11:59pm EST . This is a hard -not a postmark- deadline. 

All application material is available online. No information is sent via snail mail. Interested applicants are invited to view a Guide to Graduate Admissions at  https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/ . 

Questions? 

Please contact  Arthur Palmon  (Assistant Director of Student Services).

Department Bookshelf

Browse the most recent publications from our faculty members.

In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States

Uncertain Past Time: Empire, Republic, and Politics | Belirsiz Geçmiş Zaman: İmparatorluk, Cumhuriyet Ve Siyaset

Embodied Knowledge: Women and Science before Silicon Valley

Compton in My Soul

The Fox Spirit, the Stone Maiden, and Other Transgender Histories from Late Imperial China

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• Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
• One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
• You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
• For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
• MA in History

The MA in History provides you with the opportunity to explore society, politics and culture in Britain and Ireland during either the early modern (c.1500-1780) or modern (c.1750-1970) period. Using our world-class collection of online primary source materials together with collections of documents and artefacts in local and national repositories, you will produce an independent research project on a topic of your choice.

• Develops your ability to present a sustained argument in clear, logical prose
• Builds your skills of analysis, critical thinking and practical research
• Provides a firm foundation for further research studies
• Applicable to a wide range of careers

How to register

Select the module you will study first, read the full description, and follow the instructions to register.

To gain the 180 credits you require for this qualification, you must study the modules in the order shown below and pass part 1 before progressing to part 2:

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module A825 may be used in place of A883.

You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 60 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you. Due to the structure of this qualification 90 credits will be required.

Learning outcomes, teaching and assessment

The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Cognitive skills
• Practical and professional skills

If you’ve successfully completed some relevant postgraduate study elsewhere, you might be able to count it towards this qualification, reducing the number of modules you need to study.  You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible, before you register. For more details and an application form, visit our  Credit Transfer website .

On completion

On successful completion of the required modules you can be awarded the Master of Arts in History, entitling you to use the letters MA (Hist) (Open) after your name. You will have the opportunity of being presented at a degree ceremony.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations  website. 

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us . This description was last updated on 19 March 2024.

You must hold an honours degree (or equivalent) to study our MA in History. Although your degree does not need to be in History or a closely related subject, you will need some knowledge of the subject to successfully complete this qualification as the MA in History assumes all students have the knowledge and skills usually acquired by pursuing the subject at undergraduate level.

An honours degree of at least 2.1 (or equivalent) will greatly increase your chances of successfully completing the MA in History.

• Details of why you are interested in studying our MA in History, details of any skills and knowledge you have relevant to studying history at postgraduate level, and any further information that you feel might support your application (e.g. membership of historical societies, publications on historical themes). 
• A CV (2 pages max)
• Evidence of prior study, if applicable (e.g. copies of certificate or transcript higher education, further education or professional qualifications).

Additional considerations If your degree or background is not in history or a related subject, you can take this  self-diagnostic test . If, after trying the test, you are not confident about starting this masters degree, we recommend that you complete the Preparatory work listed in the Entry requirements for MA History part 1 (A883).

It is expected that your spoken and written English will also be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. If English is not your first language, we recommend that you will need a minimum score of 7 under the International English Language testing system (IELTS). Please see their website for more details.

How long it takes

You will be able to complete this masters qualification within two years by studying one module a year.

Career relevance

In addition to specific study of history, this degree will provide you with practical skills in the use of print and online primary source material, research analysis, methods and dissertation writing. The module also provides opportunities to develop and practice communication, collaboration and project management skills. An MA in History will be useful for a range of careers in which grappling with complex ideas and texts is important, including careers in teaching, journalism, the civil service and public administration, libraries, archives, museums, heritage, travel and tourism. It is also excellent preparation for doctoral studies in history.

Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.

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History, PhD

The Graduate Program in History at the University of Pennsylvania has a long tradition of distinction. Beginning as one of the first programs in the United States to offer doctoral study in history, (the first Ph.D. in History was conferred in 1891); the Department continues to pioneer new areas of scholarship. In the last twenty years, faculty members of the departments in American, European, and World History have assumed a leading role in their fields. Today, few departments in the country match Penn's Department of History in coverage and depth across the entire range of history from medieval times to the present.

For more information: http://www.history.upenn.edu/graduate/program-guidelines

View the University’s Academic Rules for PhD Programs .

Sample Plan of Study

The total course units required for graduation is 14.

Program Milestones

• Language and Technical Competency Requirement
• Field Requirements
• Teaching Requirement

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2023 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

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Department of History

PhD in History (by distance learning)

Join our rich and thriving academic community and deliver research on key research areas in history, with the flexibility to study online.

Year of entry: 2024/25

If your passion lies in research, our doctoral degrees give you the independence to focus on a specialism of your choice. You'll have the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world. Study with us and receive expert research guidance from our supportive staff.

Your research

You'll focus on an independent research project on a topic of your choice. Your research will culminate in a dissertation of up to 90,000 words.

Join one of our leading research groups, which bring together historical expertise in various fields. Find out more about  our research groups .

[email protected]

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3rd in the UK for research impact

and 11th overall in the Times Higher Education ranking of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

Committed to equality

We are proud to hold an Athena Swan Bronze award in recognition of the work we do to support gender equality in history.

Access to exclusive resources

Our Borthwick Institute for Archives houses one of the most extensive collections of archives in the UK. York Minster Library is the largest cathedral library in the UK and holds material spanning 1000 years of history. We also have strong partnerships and consultancies with museums, archives, heritage sites, the media, artists and community organisations.

Explore funding for postgraduate researchers in the Department of History.

Supervision

We'll help match your research interests to our supervisory expertise. Explore the expertise of our staff.

Training and support

Your progress throughout your degree will be continually guided by your supervisor , who will help you to hone your focus and deliver specialised research. Alongside regular online meetings with your supervisor, you'll attend a Thesis Advisory Panel (TAP), consisting of at least one member of staff in addition to your supervisor. You'll meet twice a year (yearly for part-time students) to discuss your research project, including more general professional development and career training.

Course location

This course is run by the Department of History.

You can study this course from around the world. You must attend a five-day induction programme in York at the beginning of your first year. You'll also visit York in your second and third years (every other year for part-time students).

Entry requirements

You should have, or be about to complete, an MA degree in History or an equivalent subject with a distinction or very high merit.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language you must provide evidence of your ability.

Check your English language requirements

Apply for this course

Take a look at the supporting documents you may need for your application.

Find out more about how to apply .

Identify a supervisor

As part of any application for a research degree you will need to name one or more academic staff who could supervise your research. You should approach them informally to discuss your proposed project before you apply.

Find a supervisor

As part of your application, you'll be interviewed by one or two academic staff members, including your prospective supervisor. The interview will last around 30 minutes to an hour, with plenty of time for you to ask questions and find out what York can offer you. Your interview can be in-person or online.

Careers and skills

Your PhD will help to extend your qualifications, giving you the ability to use research and historical thinking to shed light on historical problems and communicate this knowledge with others. You will become equipped with transferable skills in communication, data analysis, archival research and collaboration, opening the door to a wide range of career opportunities.

Our dedicated careers team offer specific support including a programme of professional researcher development and careers workshops and 1:1 career support sessions. They will help you to build up your employability portfolio and to engage in activities that will build up your skills and experience within and outside of your research work.

Career opportunities

• archives practitioner
• heritage manager
• academic researcher
• museum professional
• historic buildings conservation officer
• lecturer or teacher

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Distance learning at York

Learn more about the York approach to distance and online learning.

Support and resources

Explore the support and resources we offer for distance and online learners.

Discover more about why York is the perfect choice for your research degree.

Meet us online or on campus

Find out all you need to know about applying to York

Scholarships

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• Public History Practicum
• Prospective Students

Theoretically sophisticated, comparative, and interdisciplinary approaches are a hallmark of the doctoral program at the University of Chicago. The Department of History offers a comprehensive range of fields of study. We strongly encourage students to take courses outside of History and to compose one of three oral fields in a comparative discipline. A rich series of  interdisciplinary workshops  and conferences bring together students and faculty from throughout the university for intellectual exchange.

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PhD in History

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Study History Where It Is Made

AU’s PhD in History will prepare you for a career as an educator, researcher, analyst, and writer working in academia, public and institutional history, and other fields requiring investigative and analytical skills. In this program, you will develop a deeper understanding of how historians investigate and interpret the past while you explore the past with your own original research .

You will receive a high level of mentorship and develop close working relationships with your professors. Under the guidance of our award-winning faculty , our students complete strong dissertations and present work at top conferences while making valuable connections and gaining experience in the Washington, DC, area.

This program is ideal for students interested in American and modern European history, including Russian history. Our department also has strengths in a variety of subfields , including public history, African American history, women’s/gender history, politics and foreign relations, and Jewish history. This diversity will open your options for research and allow for specialization without sacrificing breadth of study.

Rigorous Study with a Degree of Flexibility

Our program combines rigorous training in scholarship with the flexibility to pursue your intellectual interests. Our coursework will give you a solid foundation in historical theory and methodology, research methods, and United States or modern European history. Together with your academic advisor, you will design a program of study to match your academic goals . You will acquire and demonstrate mastery of tools of research , such as foreign languages, quantitative research methods, oral history, new media, and other methodologies. Your doctoral examinations will be tailored to fit your individual fields of study. You will then pursue your own research in writing your doctoral dissertation.

The Department will supervise PhD dissertations in the history of Modern Europe (normally for the period 1789 to the present), United States history (including the colonial period), US foreign relations, and modern Jewish history.

See all admissions and course requirements .

Cutting-Edge Faculty Dedicated to Your Success

Our history faculty makes national news, uncovers under-represented areas of history, and guides doctoral students , helping them generate innovative and influential research . From predicting presidential elections to publishing award-winning books and articles, our distinguished professors produce relevant historical scholarship and will train you do the same. With academic and professional mentorship from our faculty, you will you will enter the field as a thoroughly prepared and well-connected scholar.

Endless Opportunities in a Historic City

Pursuing your doctorate in the nation’s capital provides you with unparalleled access to renowned museums, archives, institutions, and resources . From the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution and National Archives to the DC Historical Society, our students are only a metro ride away from exceptional local and national repositories. As part of the Washington Consortium , students at American University are able to take courses at colleges and universities throughout the DC metropolitan area, providing the opportunity to work with a variety of faculty in diverse programs and fields of study.

A truly global city, DC, contains hundreds of embassies, cultural organizations, and enclave communities. Brimming with history , the DC area offers Civil War battlefields, the Capitol, Mount Vernon, the White House, and countless landmarks of the colonial period, Revolutionary War, Civil War, and more recent American history. The city is also home to smaller historical organizations like the DC Historical Society and the DC Preservation League. Whether your interest is global, national, or local, this historic city undoubtedly has something for you.

Explore the Possibilities

Our students go on to become university and college faculty and administrators or work in federal and state governments, for museums and archives, and in other exciting fields. Our alumni teach at universities around the world , from the University of Houston in Texas to University of Prince Edward Island in Canada and Ludwig Maximilians Universität in Munich. Our PhDs hold positions with the nation’s most important institutions , including the Library of Congress, Department of State, National Archives and Records Administration, American Historical Association, National Endowment for the Humanities, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Recent and Current PhD Dissertation topics

• Auketayeva, Laura : "Gender and Jewish Evacuees in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust" 
• Barry, Michael : "Islamophobic & Anti-Islamophobic Ideas in America"
• Brenner, Rebecca : "When Mail Arrived on Sundays, 1810-1912" 
• Boose, Donelle : "Black Power and the Organizing Tradition: Work-ing Women of Washington, DC. 1965-1990"
• Chatfield, Andrew : "American Support for India’s Self-Determination from 1915-1920: Progressives, Radicals, and Anti-Imperialists"
• Duval, Lauren : "Landscapes of Allegiance: Space, Gender, and Mili-tary Occupation in the American Revolution"
• Englekirk, Ryan : "The Third Team: Unmasking Fraternity and Mascu-linity Among Major League Baseball Umpires 1970-2010" 
• Estess, Jonah : "The People’s Money: The American Revolution, Cur-rency, and the Making of Political Economic Culture in American Life, 1775-1896" 
• Frome, Gavin : "American Protestant Service Workers in Viet Nam, 1954-1975"
• Gabor, Ruth : "'Moda' for the Masses: Moscow Fashion’s Appeal at Home and Abroad during the Cold War"
• Gibson, Laura : "It’s Love that Counts: The History of Non-Nuclear Families in American Domestic Sitcoms"
• Grant, Jordan : "Catchers and Kidnappers: Slave Hunting in Early America" 
• Grek, Ivan : "Illiberal Civil Society in Russia, 1992-2000"
• Harris, Curtis : "Hardwood Revolution: The NBA's Growth & Player Revolt, 1950-1976" 
• Hawks, Julie : "Capital Investments: Engineering American Cold War Culture" 
• Jobe, Mary "Allison" : "'We Remember Him for His Character': The Life of James W. Ford and the Communist Party USA" 
• Kaplan, Anna : "Left by the Wayside: Memories and Postmemories of the Integration of the University of Mississippi"
• Killian, Linda : "Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine: The Shared Political Ideology at the Heart of American Democracy" 
• Kitterman, Katherine : "'No Ordinary Feelings': Mormon Women’s Political Activism, 1870-1896" 
• Langford, Amy : "Creating a Body Politic: Boundary Crossings and the (Re) Making of Latter-Day Saints on the U.S. Border, 1885-1920"
• Levin, Jeffrey : "Felix Warburg and the Establishment of the Hebrew University" 
• MacNeill, Lindsay : "Policing Politics in Austria, 1918-1955"
• Milwicki, Alon : "Baptizing Nazism: An Analysis of the Religious Roots of American Neo-Nazism"
• Rafferty-Osaki, Terumi : "'Strictly Masculine': Reforming and Per-forming Manhood at Tule Lake, 1942-1946" 
• Recordati, Maurizio : "Russia Turns Inward: Russian Grand Strategy in the Post-Crimean War Period (1856-78)"
• Sowry, Nathan : "Museums, Native American Representation, & the Public: The Role of Museum Anthropology in Public History, 1873-1929"
• Styrna, Pawel : "Polish-Russian Relations, 1904-1921"
• Vehstedt, Scott : "'Lets Help Finland': The Return of American Relief Aid in the Winter War, 1939-1940"
• Weixelbaum, Jason : "At the Crossroads of Fascism: The Decision of Ford, General Motors, and IBM to do Business with Nazi Germany"

Alumni Job Placements

Graduates of the history PhD program are working as professors, researchers, and directors across the US and at international locations. Here is a list of where select graduates have or are currently working:

• Director, National Coalition for History
• Assistant Professor, University of Prince Edward Island
• Assistant Professor, Towson University
• Assistant Professor of History and Director of American Studies, West Chester University
• Independent historian
• Senior Archivist, National Archives
• Associate Professor, Ryerson University
• Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• Historian, US Army
• Senior policy adviser and special assistant to the president of the Humane Society
• Historian, Office of the Historian, Department of State
• Museum Director, Renton History Museum, Oregon
• Public History Coordinator, American Historical Association
• Assistant Professor, Bridgewater State University
• Lecturer in Sociology, California State University at Bakersfield
• Assistant Professor, Delaware State University
• Historian, Global Classroom, US Holocaust Museum
• Director, Digital Archive, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library
• Assistant Professor, Illinois State University
• Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland at College Park
• Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Assistant Professor, University of West Florida
• Independent historian and filmmaker
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of History, US Naval Academy
• Administrative Support Specialist at FEMA
• Senior editor and writer, National Endowment for the Humanities
• Instructor, Religion Dept., National Cathedral School (earned Master of Divinity after PhD)
• Curriculum and Publications Coordinator, AU Registrar's Office
• Assistant Professor, Seminole State College

News & Notes

PhD candidate Reza Akbari presented at the Middle East Studies Association's annual conference in Montreal, Canada. His presentation,  Etched in Mistrust: Continuity and Change in US-Iran Nuclear Negotiations (1969-1978),  argued that America's drive to keep Iran's nuclear program peaceful began decades before the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

PhD candidate  Andrew Sperling  published " A Halloween Party in Boston Turned Ugly when a Gang Hurled Antisemetic Slurs and Attacked Jewish Teenagers ," detailing the events of an antisemetic attack on Jewish teens at a Halloween party in 1950. 

Theresa Runstedtler 's new book on Black ballplayers of the 1970s and '80s setting the NBA up for success: Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywoof, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA (2023) .

Doctoral student Maurizio Recordati Koen won first prize in the 2022 Trench Gascoigne Essay Competition for "The Stuff of Strategy: How Sublime Strategics Turned into a Real Thing" in RUSI Journal.

John Schmitz (CAS/PhD '07) published Enemies among Us: The Relocation, Internment, and Repatriation of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans during the Second World War .

Doctoral student Jonah Estess presented his paper, "Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems: The American Revolution and the National Origins of the Politicization of Money" as part of the panel at this year's Business History Conference.

Andrew Demshuk published Three Cities after Hitler: Redemptive Reconstruction across Cold War Borders .

PhD candidate Katherine Kitterman wrote on women's voting rights in Utah for the Washington Post.

Inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow

Nguyet Nguyen brings new perspective to the Vietnam War.

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College of Arts & Sciences

PhD Program

Interim Director of Doctoral Studies (Spring 2024) : Professor Alison Games Graduate Programs Manager : Carolina Madinaveitia Student Assistant to the Director of Doctoral Studies : Ashley Mayor

Welcome to Georgetown’s Ph.D. program in History! We are a top-notch program with strengths in multiple fields, including the United States, Early Modern and Modern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and the Soviet Union, and East Asia. We encourage students with interests that span geographical regions, such as Environmental, Atlantic, and Diplomatic History. Our doctoral student community numbers roughly 100, with new cohorts of 10-12 fully-funded students each year. Our alumni have gone on to distinguished careers as historians in and out of the academy.

Our Ph.D. program has much to offer. In addition to the attention of a distinguished and award-winning History faculty, our students benefit from Georgetown’s many regional studies programs and intellectual centers, where interdisciplinary activity is prized. Opportunities for language training abound. No city has greater resources for historians than Washington, D.C.: the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the National Library of Medicine, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and many other institutions hold an unparalleled wealth of research material.

Our doctoral program is collegial and collaborative, with a vibrant intellectual life. Outside of class, students participate in seminars and conferences along with faculty, share in the activities of our Institute for Global History, grow through professional development workshops, and socialize with each other when the academic day is over. It’s a fun place to be a serious historian.

History Department

• Graduate Studies

PhD in History

The Ph.D. in history program is distinctively collaborative. As a doctoral student, you will work closely with advisors and other faculty on focused research and prepare for the comprehensive exams.

Program Overview

The program of study leading to the Ph.D. consists of four elements: the completion of coursework, the completion of language examination(s), the completion of qualifying oral examinations in three fields and the preparation of a dissertation.

Students entering the program from an undergraduate degree can finish  the program in seven years. Most graduates pursue careers in academia,  while others choose to apply their knowledge to career fields like law  or public service. 

Core Requirements

A Ph.D. in history requires the following:

• 48 course credits (12 course credits may be outside the department). The coursework develops basic analytical and research skills and grounds students in their areas of specialization.
• 24 dissertation credits must be devoted to research and writing of the dissertation.
• All together, students must have a total of 72 credits to receive the Ph.D.

Comprehensive Examinations

Candidates for the Ph.D. who entered with an undergraduate degree are required to take oral comprehensive examinations at the end of their third year of graduate study. Candidates who entered with approved and transferred credits from a master's degree program are required to take oral comprehensive examinations at the end of their second year of graduate study. Comprehensive examinations are approximately two hours in length and are taken in the major field and both minor fields.

Dissertation

The oral dissertation defense is conducted by a six-member examining committee, including an outside chair from another department/school. The chair must be a tenured faculty member of the University (ESF and Law faculty members cannot be chosen). The advisor and student jointly choose the remaining two members. The doctoral proposal must be approved by the student’s advisor and two other faculty members. The student is eligible to take the oral examination after the advisor and all dissertation committee members have approved the dissertation for defense. The examination, which is open to all faculty members, graduate students and the general public, consists of a defense of the dissertation and examination in the field of specialization in which it falls.

Foreign Language

Each student fulfills requirements in one foreign language prior to taking the master’s examination or submitting of a thesis.

Meet Our Graduate Students

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Nitya Chagti

Philip Erenrich

Semaj Campbell

Tianyu Cheng

Mohammad Ebad Athar

Maxwell history dissertations.

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I am Maxwell.

My study in the history Ph.D. program was an amazing journey into unknown realms. It was the cornerstone of my academic career and one of the most memorable times I had.

Jing Liu '19 (Modern Northeast Asian History) Shaingai Academy of Sciences

Department of History

Ph.d. program outline.

• Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. program in History is designed to train students in the skills of conducting original historical research and crafting unique historical arguments.

In the course of their work as historians, Brown scholars draw on a wide range of methods and engage with a variety of audiences. Thus although we begin with the core skills of academic research and writing and teaching at the college and university levels, we do not end there. Many Brown doctoral students explore teaching in and writing for different settings, and prepare for a breadth of careers that value the skills that a obtaining a Ph.D. in history entails.

The Brown Ph.D. program is intimate and rigorous, and students are expected to complete in five to seven years. One of the program's hallmarks is a series of required courses in which an entire cohort is trained in core professional skills. This series is composed of: (1) a methodology colloquium that introduces the students to a wide range of theory and historical practice; (2) an advanced writing workshop in which students write an article-quality paper; (3) a professionalization seminar in which students are trained in the habits of mind and skills of the profession; and (4) a dissertation prospectus seminar. Critically, students in an entering cohort proceed through these courses together, so that discussions across fields, geographies, and chronologies are built into the doctoral program.

The program is divided into two stages

• During the  first and second years  students take seminars that introduce the major historiographical questions and methodologies of various fields and that develop their research skills; they write an article-length paper based on original archival research; they take a professionalization course that introduces them to the principal tasks and cultures of the profession (grant writing, for instance, and conference presentations); and they form an exam committee and begin preparation for the preliminary examinations.
• After passing the examinations by the end of their fifth semester, students develop a prospectus for and research and write their dissertation. The dissertation is typically completed in the  fifth or sixth year  (though some students take longer).  

The department offers four types of Ph.D. seminars:

• Field Seminars  (2970s) offer students a broad overview of a field, typically an exam field.
• Required Seminars  are the four seminars required of all Ph.D. students: Colloquium, Writing Workshop, Professionalization, and Prospectus.
• Special Topics Seminars  focus on the historiography of a particular nation or region, for example, a particular historical “event,” or historiographical debate. They allow for focused, close training, including specialized skills (e.g. paleography), readings in languages other than English, or extensive examination of the scholarship on a particular problem.
• Thematic Seminars  (2980s) offer students the opportunity to explore a particular theoretical/methodological frame in a transnational and transtemporal perspective.

The First and Second Years

In their first year, students take 3 seminars in the fall (2 plus the colloquium) and 3 seminars in the spring. Ideally, the courses should be a mix of Field and Thematic seminars, with the inclusion of a Special Topics seminar where appropriate. The colloquium is required of all first-year Ph.D. students and constitutes the basic introductory methodology and theory course for the degree.

Any student who wishes to do so may, after consultation with her or his advisor, substitute an independent reading course offered by a member of the department or a graduate-level course outside of the department.

Research Paper

During the spring semester of the first year, each student begins work on their research paper. Production of the paper is a year-long process that begins in a spring-semester Thematic seminar and concludes in the subsequent fall in the Graduate Workshop. Students designate one of their Thematic seminars as the foundation for the paper and compose a research prospectus as the final project in the course (the prospectus should include a literature review and a discussion of archival sources). Students engage in archival research during the summer and enroll in the Graduate Workshop in the fall, in which they write the final paper.

By the end of the first year, students are expected to have assembled a three-member exam committee.

Second Year

In their second year, students will serve as teaching assistants and will continue to take a mix of Field, Special Topics, and Thematic seminars. In addition, each semester they take one required course: in the fall, the Graduate Workshop, in which they write their research paper, and in the spring Professionalization, which focuses on the principal professionals tasks and expectations they will encounter in a career as a professional historian.

The First Two Summers

Students are required to make progress toward the completion of their degree during the summer months. The department recognizes that for some students progress will take the form of language training, while for others archival work or other research-related projects might be appropriate, along with reading for preliminary exams. During their first summer, all students are expected to complete significant archival research for their research paper.

During the third year, students must pass their preliminary examinations by the end of the fifth (fall) semester. Exams are typically scheduled for early December.

Preliminary Exams

By the end of the first year of study the student submit a departmental form that lists three fields in which she/he will be examined. The student will indicate the field in which her/his dissertation will be written. This will be the major field. The others will be minor fields. No more than two fields may be in the history of the same national culture. Normally, all three examiners will be members of the Department of History, and the fields will be chosen based on consultation with the examiners and the Director of Graduate Studies. A student may petition the department to prepare one field in another department or program.

Based on the foregoing, the first three years of the Ph.D. program for a typical student would look schematically like this

Fourth Year

The fourth year is typically a fellowship year, during which students conduct dissertation research wherever their work takes them.

The fifth year is typically funded as a teaching assistantship, during which time students continue research and writing of the dissertation.

Students in the fourth year and beyond register for HIST 2990, Thesis Preparation.

Additional Ph.D. Information

Doctoral dissertation, fields of study, funding and financial aid.

PhD Program

The Department of History offers doctoral degrees in African, American, Asian, and European history. The PhD program is distinguished by the strength of its faculty and by its commitment to training students broadly and as a community. Through guided steps of coursework, preparation for the comprehensive oral examination, archival research, and dissertation writing, students learn to develop and execute original research designs leading to scholarly publications that make original and important contributions to the historical discipline. At the same time, the department also prepares students to become the next generation of effective history teachers, able to instruct on a wide range of topics. To that end, all incoming doctoral students together take a core of classes in African, American, and European historiographies to learn about histories and methodologies outside their chosen field. PhD students also serve as Teaching Fellows in a wide range of lecture courses, acquiring professional and pedagogical skills under the guidance of faculty mentors. The department’s graduates have become professors at research universities, colleges, and community colleges, and staff members at research libraries, museums, and archives.

There are six components to the PhD program. In the first two years, students are asked to complete their coursework : specific courses, major research papers, and language examinations. By the end of their third year, students must pass a qualifying oral examination and submit a dissertation prospectus . After they have completed their dissertation, they engage in a dissertation defense .

See the below for a general timeline of these requirements. For more information about each, see the following pages:

PhD Coursework

Phd qualifying exam, abd (“all but dissertation”), academic progress timeline, end of first year.

Students begin their coursework towards the PhD. Coursework refers to the work undertaken by doctoral students before taking their oral exams. It includes the required courses, original research papers, and certification of language proficiency as described below. See PhD Coursework for more information.

1) Take and pass 8 approved courses, four of which must include the following:

• GRS HI 800: European Historiography
• GRS HI 850: American Historiography
• GRS HI 870: African Historiography
• GRS HI 801: The Historian’s Craft

2) Take and pass a research seminar that results in the production of a major research paper of 25-40 pages. The paper should examine a topic approved by the course instructor as well as the student’s main advisor. HI801 can serve as this research seminar.

3) Pass at least one foreign language exam. This can be accomplished in one of three ways:

• Complete an exam given by faculty members in the history department who specialize in your language of choice. Language exams are normally administered during the semester.
• Complete a language reading course numbered 621 through the Graduate School. Please note that these courses may not be taken for credit toward the doctorate.
• Students who have passed a reading examination at another accredited graduate school can petition the Director of Graduate Studies to waive the departmental requirement.

End of Second Year

1) Take and pass 8 more courses. These courses may take any of the following three forms:

• Courses offered at Boston University numbered 500 and above.
• Approved courses offered within the Boston Consortium
• Directed Reading Seminar
• Directed Research Seminar

2) These 8 courses must include another research seminar that results in the production of a second major research paper of 25-40 pages.

3) Pass a second foreign language exam through one of the three methods described above.

4) Begin preparing for the oral qualifying exams.

• Select a major and a minor field.
• Create an orals committee consisting of four examining faculty in the chosen fields.
• Create reading lists for the minor field and each area of the major field in consultation with the individual examiners.

By the End of Third Year

1) Take and pass qualifying oral exams. See the PhD Qualifying Exam Page for more information.

• Before taking the exam, students must have completed their coursework as well as both research papers and language requirements.
• Before taking the exam, students must submit the PhD Qualifying Oral Examination Approval Form to the department.

2) Students who have completed all coursework and qualifying exams are considered ABD (“All But Dissertation”). See the ABD page for more information.

3) Submit the dissertation prospectus for approval by the first and second reader. Once approved, the student must submit the Dissertation Prospectus Approval Form .

4) Research and apply for grants to fund archival research.

Fourth Year and Beyond

1) Apply for grants and fellowships.

2) Conduct archival research.

3) Write up the dissertation.

4) Complete four semesters of HI 900: Dissertation Workshop, and present annually on research.

5) Complete the dissertation.

• BU GRS Dissertation and Graduation Procedures
• Manuscript Preparation Guide

6) File a GRS Intent to Graduate Form for the Doctoral Degree.

Please note that PhD candidacy (and thus financial support) expires on its fifth anniversary – that is, five years after taking orals. When students are entering their seventh year, and anticipate needing more time to complete degree requirements, they can submit a petition to the Graduate School for an extension.

Further Program Requirements

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of History offer all PhD students who maintain satisfactory academic progress five years of guaranteed full funding. Funding is restricted to students in the PhD program. This support will primarily be in the form of teaching fellowships; non-service fellowships are offered the first full year and the fifth year with an approved Dissertation Prospectus. There are also internal grants available aimed at supporting research during the summer or academic year. Graduate students are also strongly encouraged to apply for external funding for their research priorities. For more details regarding funding, see the Financial Assistance page and the Graduate Student Resources page .

Academic Advisors

All entering students are referred to an appropriate member of the faculty for advising. They can and should also consult the Director of Graduate Studies in matters concerning their intellectual and professional development. Students may change advisors at any time should the student’s intellectual interests change. Normally, the faculty advisor sits on the qualifying examination committee and serves as first reader for the dissertation.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

The Graduate School of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of History guarantee five full years (12 months each) of financial support for Ph.D. students who maintain satisfactory academic progress. This support will be primarily be in the form of teaching fellowships; non-service fellowships are offered the first full year. Only those students who are making satisfactory and sustained progress toward the completion of their degree within the specified time periods will be awarded financial support.

The Department of History is committed to ensuring that all PhD students fulfill their requirements in a timely and successful manner. Note that financial aid is linked to continued academic progress. The Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Department Chair and the student’s advisor, will normally award financial aid only to those students who are making satisfactory and sustained progress toward the completion of their degree within specified time periods.

In the Department of History, making Satisfactory Academic Progress toward the doctorate is defined as:

• Earning no more than two failing grades in their coursework. History defines a grade of B- or lower as a failing grade. The Department regards any incomplete grade (I) older than 12 months and any withdrawal (W) as a failing grade.
• Maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher .
• PhD students who do not meet these standards over two semesters – who fail two courses or whose GPA falls below 3.0 – will be placed on academic probation . This status automatically triggers a conversation with the student, their advisor, and the DGS about past performance and how best to improve that performance going forward. PhD students who remain on academic probation risk withdrawal of their funding.
• Taking and passing qualifying exams by the end of their third year.
• Submitting and receiving approval for a dissertation prospectus within 12 months of their qualifying exams.

PhD Student Self Assessment

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• Master’s degree from an institution accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency or an internationally recognized institution
• Your official master’s transcripts, minimum grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale

GRE and GMAT are not required for admission. Also, admission requirements for international students may differ.

Learn more about doctoral programs at Capella

• Bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency, or from an internationally recognized institution
• Your official bachelor’s transcripts
• Minimum GPA as determined by your chosen program

Certain degree programs – such as counseling, social work, and nursing – may have additional requirements. International students also must submit proof of English proficiency and transcript evaluation.

While some institutions may ask for scores from the GRE, GMAT, SAT, or ACT, these tests are not required as part of admission for Capella.

Learn more about master’s programs at Capella

• High school diploma or equivalent
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• A valid, government-issued form of photo identification
• Must be least 24 years old (may be waived for military/veteran applicants, those with at least 24 quarter credits of prior college/university coursework, and Capella Jumpstart participants)

SAT and ACT are not required for admission.

Learn more about bachelor’s programs at Capella

• Certificate students and students taking individual courses must meet the minimum education requirements determined by the degree level of their course registration.
• Bachelor’s students must be least 24 years old (may be waived for military/veteran applicants and those with at least 24 quarter credits of prior college/university coursework) and must have a high school diploma or equivalent.
• Master’s students must have a bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency or internationally recognized institution.
• Doctoral students must have a master’s degree from an institution accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency or internationally recognized institution.

Bachelor’s programs

• 45 applicable college credits
• The recommended minimum GPA is 2.8 OR at least 100 applied transfer college credits (Applicants with a lower GPA and less than 100 applied transfer college credits,  may be considered by providing additional documentation for a holistic review.)

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• Recommended minimum college GPA: 2.8 (Applicants with a lower GPA may be considered by providing additional documentation for a holistic review.)
• Some programs require that your bachelor’s degree be in your intended field of study, or that you have a minimum amount of relevant, professional experience in that field.

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New Jersey quintuplets graduate from same university together:...

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It’s celebrations all around for this party of five.

Quintuplets from New Jersey have made history by graduating from Montclair State University on the same day.

Victoria, Vico, Ashley, Michael and Marcus Povolo, 21, each took to the stage to receive their diploma at the college’s commencement ceremony on Monday, watched on by their proud parents, Paolo and Silvia.

“It was super emotional, I was very, very excited,” Vico told The Post of the milestone moment. “We didn’t have a traditional high school graduation ceremony during the COVID pandemic, so it was a full circle moment.”

It’s “believed to be the first time quints have simultaneously graduated from a New Jersey higher ed institution,” Montclair State University said in a statement.

For mom Silvia, the children’s graduation marked the end of an era.

“It came so fast and it’s so amazing that these kids pulled through it,” she declared, explaining that they started college during the depths of the pandemic.

“There was a really a lot of emotion. I cried, I laughed, I screamed [with joy].” 

The quintuplets, who hail from the town of Totowa, were nicknamed the “Five Little Firecrackers” by local media after they were born on July 4, 2002. Their parents, Silvia and Paul, immigrated from Italy to the United States in 1988.

While they share a close bond, the siblings have all forged their own individual interests and each pursued different college majors.

As such, they’re now embarking on wildly different careers.

Victoria, who studied biochemistry, is planning to attend med school, while sister Ashley is currently completing her clinical experience as a high school advanced placement English teacher.

Vico is soon set to start work as a sales and marketing rep for Techtronic Industries in New Jersey, and Marcus, who majored in Business Administration, has scored a plum job at JPMorgan Chase.

Meanwhile, Michael, who earned a Bachelor of Science, will return to Montclair State in the fall to complete a Master of Science in Nutrition.

The student-athlete teams his studies with volunteer work. He currently interns at an assisted living community and coaches youth lacrosse.

While Gen Zers may get a bad rap, stereotyped as entitled and lazy, Silvia says her kids were taught the value of hard work.

“I’m not really surprised that they’re so diligent,” she told The Post. “These kids grew up in a very strict house.”

“I didn’t give my kids two chances, because of how many there were,” she added. “With five of them, I couldn’t really play around.”

For now, the five siblings are home from college and all living together again under the same roof, acutely aware that this may be the last summer they’re all so close to one another.

“It’s very chaotic, but it’s also very cozy,” Victoria said of the cramped living quarters.

“You always have someone to talk to,” Michael added. “I love having a full house.”

Many might believe that Silvia is looking forward to some peace and quiet in the Povolo house — but the mom says that’s not the case.

“No, no, no,” she declared. “I’m used to cooking a lot, cleaning a lot, there’s always something. The empty nest — I don’t want it!”

And while the quintuplets’ careers will likely take them far and wide, they’ll always be bonded by their love for one another and the memory of their milestone graduation day.

“I’m excited to see what the future holds,” Michael enthused. “But being with my siblings and graduating together, that’s all that counts.”

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Princeton, practice what you preach: SPIA graduate students on protest and dialogue

Protesters gathered around the SPIA fountain.

Zehao wu / the daily princetonian.

The following is an open letter and reflects the authors'   views alone. For information on how to submit a piece to the Opinion section, click   here .

Dear Graduate School Administration and Princeton University Community, 

In his opening remarks at the 1969 Princeton commencement, University president Robert F. Goheen ’40 GS ’48 said, “Only through disturbance comes growth.” Today, those words could not ring more true for us as graduate students at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).

For the past eight months, we have watched genocide unfold in real time in Gaza. We have sat in classrooms with professors who sidestep the issue. We have attended panels where the same platitudinous narratives failed to draw truly diverse, historical perspectives on the conflict. Our professors and deans have commended us for speaking out about a difficult subject while refusing to engage with us on questions around responsibility, complicity, and how we at Princeton can act.

Meanwhile, in our classes, we continue to discuss the history of popular movements like the Arab Spring, civil rights, and queer liberation and their aims of advancing human rights across the globe. We learn how international institutions can hold rule-breakers accountable. We learn that state institutions often abuse power and exploit communities, and that shaping a more equitable and sustainable world can require confrontation and disruption. We learn about injustices stemming from colonialism, racism, sexism, and other types of bigotry. And we are taught to fight against these systems however we can, to fight for equal rights, freedoms, and equity, even at the expense of our comfort, futures, and livelihoods.

At the time of Goheen’s speech, Princeton students were protesting the Vietnam War, propping banners that read “EVEN PRINCETON” to push back on Princeton’s quiet, conservative, and reactionary reputation. SPIA, which was formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson School, has also been at the center of political and moral discourse in the University. In February 1968, SPIA students undertook a solidarity fast to protest the “brutal and senseless policy” pursued in Vietnam. That same year, around 300 students marched on the former Woodrow Wilson School building to protest the university and its trustees’ complicity in corporations upholding the racist apartheid state in South Africa. In 1972, after 58 student demonstrators were charged by the University’s Judicial Committee for a sit-in at Nassau Hall, around 200 protestors occupied the policy school demanding amnesty for the protestors and the disclosure of the source of an anonymous $35 million grant to the school. Brave student actions have led to tangible results, from partial divestment from Apartheid in 1978 to demands for a more diverse curriculum in 1995. Today, these movements are celebrated as embodying the University’s ethos of service to humanity and commitment to civic activism.

In light of the values that Princeton and its policy school claim to hold, and a history of student protest guiding the University, we are shocked at how Princeton has punitively targeted students acting in the same vein of public service and social justice. In Goheen’s own words, these students caused a “disturbance,” seeking to draw attention toward a movement that directly impacts world events today. They acted in solidarity with university students around the country and the world, and in the spirit of a long history of peaceful protest at Princeton and within the policy school. This includes two of our peers at SPIA, Achinthya Sivalingam and Ariel Munczek Edelman.

On April 25, Achinthya, a second-year SPIA master’s student, was arrested while setting up a tent in McCosh Courtyard as part of a peaceful action. Four days later , 13 students including Ariel, a first-year Master in Public Affairs student, performed a sit-in — a peaceful protest tactic with a long and successful history . Along with many other graduate and undergraduate students, they took action to demand that Princeton divest from companies that fund and support Israeli attacks on Gaza.

As policy students, we believe in the need for collective action and political organization to advocate for marginalized populations, an essential right in any democracy. Yet Achinthya and Ariel were punished and censored by their own university, which preaches the power of advocacy and denounces punitive retaliation in its classes. Now, Achinthya is unsure if she will be able to graduate with her peers in less than three weeks. Ariel was barred from campus, and was only allowed to return to their campus housing after 12 days. In his campus-wide email on April 29, President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 even threatened Ariel and the rest of the Clio Hall sit-in participants with suspension and expulsion.

So why has a university whose motto commits it to service to humanity remained complicit in crimes against humanity? Why is Princeton so afraid of students applying the values we’ve been taught to our actions on campus? As policy students, we are appalled by the blatant hypocrisy of the University administration, which has relied on fear-mongering and false narratives to discredit student protestors. We are increasingly disillusioned with the dissonance of what we are taught in our classrooms and the University’s actions.

Despite student arrests, and the continued resilience of the Princeton Gaza Solidarity Encampment and hunger strike , the University has ignored and vilified student demands. We urge the administration to practice the values they preach and engage in constructive dialogue with students on their demands. Moreover, we demand complete amnesty for all students who have been engaging in peaceful protests for the rights of those in Palestine, including our classmates Achinthya and Ariel.

Current graduate students :

Afsana Khan, MPA ’24

Amana Abdurrezak, MPA ’25

Andre Jimenez, MPA ’24

Anna Schaeffer, MPA ’25

Avery Barnett, PhD 

Ayushi Vig, MPA ’25

Barghav Sivaguru, MPA ’24 

Ben Anderson, MPA ’24

Betsabe Rojas Gonzalez, MPA ’24

Brent Efron, MPA ’24

Brontë Forsgren, MPA ’24

Bronte Nevins

Claire Fondrie-Teitler, MPA ’25

Cydney Gardner-Brown, MPA ’24, 

Ebonie Simpson, MPP ’24

Eleni Smitham, MPA ’25

Elmir Mukhtarov, MPA ’24 

Fatma Gdoura, MPA ’24

Frances Steele, MPA ’25

Gillian Tisdale, MPA ’24

Isabela Salgado Pereira, MPA ’24

Jennifer Williams, MPA ’25

Jeremiah Chamberlin

Julia Kaufman, MPA ’25

Justin Schuster, MPA ’24

Juyoung Lee, MPA ’24

Kate Hannick, MPA ’24

Keiana West, MPA ’25

Kelso Brasunas, MPA ’24

Laurel Cooke, MPA ’25

Liam M., MPA ’24

Lizabelt Avila, MPA ’24

Madeleine Granda, MPA ’25

Madeline Davet, MPA ’25

Maimuna Ahmad, MPP ’24

Margot Adam, PhD ’28

Maya Pontón Aronoff 

Maya T. Woser, MPA ’24

Melissa Tier, PhD ’25

Mustafa Ali-Smith, MPA/JD ’27

Nada Shalash, MPA’25

Olivia Lucas, MPA ’24

Paris Wilkerson, MPA ’27

Peter Kirgis, MPA ’25

Pranav Bhandarkar, MPA ’27

Rachel Morrow, MPA ’25

Rooya Rahin, MPA ’27

Rosemary Newsome, MPA ’25

Sabrina Fields, PhD Student

Sarah Lee ’22, MPA ’28

Sergio Rodriguez Camarena, MPA ’24

Shelley Hoover, PhD ’28

Sophie Bandarkar, MPA ’25

Sylvia Skerry, MPA ’25

Tina Lee, MPA ’25

Tony Solís Cruz, MPA ’24

Vaani Chopra, MPA ’24

Graduate alumni :

Alessandra Brown, MPA ’18

Amber Forbes, MPA ’18

Amber Zuberi, MPA ’18

Andom Ghebreghiorgis, MPP ’22

Auri Minaya, MPA’23

Conor Hussey, MPA ’22

Daniel Edelman, MPA ’15

Dominick Tanoh, MPA ’23

Evelyn Wong, MPA ’23 

Fatima Khan, MPA’ 21

Francis Torres, MPA ’22

Hannah Ceja, MPA ’23

Harshita Rallabhandi, MPA ’21

Helena H., MPA ’23

Henrietta Toivanen, PhD ’23

Ileana Cruz, MPA ’19

Ishita Batra, MPA ’23

J. Sebastián Leiva M., MPA ’23

Jessie Press-Williams, MPA ’23

Jia Jun Lee, MPA ’22

Johana De la Cruz, MPA ’23

Julieta Cuéllar, MPA ’19

Kacie Rettig, MPA ’23

Kat Phan, MPA ’23

Kavita N Ramdas 

Marcelo Norsworthy, MPA ’18

Mark Lee Cambray, MPA ’21

Maura Farrell, MPA ’19

Muhsin Hassan MPA ’16

Nusrat Ahmed ’17 

Odette Overton, MPA ’23

Paco García Bellego, MPA ’23

Pallavi Nuka, MPA ’04

Patrick Ryan, MPA ’23

Rain Tsong, MPA ’23

Rouguiatou Diallo, MPA’23

Sam Carlson, MPA ’89

Seleeke Flingai, PhD, MPA ’18

Shehab Chowdhury, MPA ’18 

Sujata Rajpurohit, MPA ’21

Susan Ragheb, MPA ’22, APGA Board Member

Swetha Balachandran, MPA ’18

Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, MPA ’19

Vincent Cauntay

Vivian Chang, MPA ’17

Vyette Tiya, MPA ’24

The signatories listed signed as of 9:00 p.m. EST on May 13, 2024. To view a full list of signatories or to sign the letter, please see this continuously updating document. The document is monitored by the authors of the letter.

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Cognitively Stimulating Jobs May Protect Against Dementia

People with a history of cognitively stimulating occupations during their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s had a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia after age 70, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center , and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The findings highlight the importance of cognitive stimulation during midlife for maintaining cognitive function in old age.

The study is the first to fully advance the association between cognitively stimulating occupations and reduced risk for MCI and dementia with objective assessments rather than subjective evaluations. The results are published in Neurology .

“Our study highlights the importance of mentally challenging job tasks to maintain cognitive functioning in later life,” says Vegard Skirbekk , PhD, professor in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health  and the Columbia Aging Center , who initiated the project. First author Trine Holt Edwin from Oslo University Hospital, adds, “This study shows the importance of education and cognitively stimulating work life for cognitive health in older age.”

The researchers collected data from the Norwegian administrative registry and coupled it with occupational attributes of more than 300 jobs from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database17 of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration. Routine task intensity (RTI) index was computed as a measure of occupational cognitive demands based on measures from O*NET. A lower RTI index indicates more cognitively demanding occupations. This research builds upon previous findings showing trajectories of occupational physical activity.

Group-based trajectory modeling identified four groups of distinct occupational cognitive demands according to the degree of routine tasks in p articipants’  occupations during their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. The researchers analyzed the link between these trajectory groups and clinically diagnosed MCI and dementia in participants in the HUNT4 70+ Study (2017-19). Additionally, the researchers accounted for important dementia risk factors such as age, gender, educational level, income, overall health, and lifestyle habits from assessments made in 1984-86 and 1995-97. 

Within age groupings, the researchers looked at such occupations as primary school teacher, salesperson, nurse and caregiver, office cleaner, civil engineer, and mechanic, among others.

After adjusting for age, sex, and education, the group with low occupational cognitive demands (the high RTI group) had a 37 percent higher risk of dementia compared to the group with high occupational cognitive demands.

“Education confounded most, but not all, of the association between occupational cognitive demands and MCI and dementia, suggesting that both education and occupational complexity matter for MCI and dementia risk,” says Edwin.

The findings advance the field in several ways, according to the authors. "First, occupational cognitive demands have often been assessed via retrospective, subjective evaluations. Additionally, our utilization of registry data on occupational histories strengthens the existing evidence,” says Yaakov Stern , PhD, in the Department of Neurology  at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons  and principal investigator of the project at Columbia.

“Overall, our study demonstrates that high occupational cognitive demands are related to lower risks of MCI and dementia in later life,” noted Skirbekk, indicating that both education and occupational cognitive demands play a crucial role in lowering the risk of later-life cognitive impairment. “However, we recommend the commissioning of further research to validate these findings to pinpoint the specific occupational cognitive demands that are most advantageous for maintaining cognitive health in old age.”

It is important to note that this study identifies associations rather than direct causation of dementia. Moreover, the study did not distinguish between different cognitive requirements within the same occupational category, nor did it consider the evolution of job responsibilities over the years. 

Co-authors are Asta Kristine Håberg, Ekaterina Zotcheva, Bernt Bratsberg, Astanand Jugessur, Bo Engdahl, Catherine Bowen, Geir Selbæk, Hans-Peter Kohler, Jennifer R. Harris, Sarah E. Tom, Steinar Krokstad, Teferi Mekonnen, and Bjørn Heine Strand.

The study was supported by a collaboration of the HUNT Research Centre (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)), Trøndelag County Council, Central Norway Regional Health Authority, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and the Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

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Sutton receives Department of Energy award to study improved hydrogeological modeling

Geoscience PhD candidate Collin Sutton has received the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research Award, which will take him to Los Alamos National Laboratory later this summer to continue the work he’s done as a graduate student at UW–Madison.

Sutton specializes in hydrogeology, a field that studies underground water and other fluids. Specifically, his research looks at how fluids flow and transport other materials, like small particles or dissolved solutes, in fractures or breaks in the materials that make up the Earth.

Fractures may occur naturally, or they can be made by humans for oil and gas extraction, enhancing geothermal capabilities, producing better drinking water, and other purposes. But Sutton said that experts still don’t fully understand how fractures transmit water, especially when it comes to the mathematical models that researchers and companies use to predict how a system of fractures will work.

While mathematical models do exist, they often aren’t easy or quick to apply to a system. Sutton’s work with his advisor Chris Zahasky, assistant professor of geoscience, focuses on this problem.

“Let’s say you’re a company. It might not be realistic to run a model that takes a week or two, and you may not have the national lab resources and the computers that can do that. So, trying to figure out ways to make faster models that are useful to industry, academia, stakeholders, [and] regulators is useful,” he said. “There’s still this broad need for more understanding of how these [fracture networks] work physically, both in the lab and also how to make mathematical models that are capable and efficient enough that real people want to use it.”

Sutton is excited to work with a group at Los Alamos National Laboratory that has created a modeling framework for fractured networks. His dissertation work on how fluids move through fractures has been conducted at the lab scale, which uses smaller rock samples that can fit into the scanners he uses to study them. As part of this, Sutton has developed a flow and transport model that can explain what happens in the lab accurately.

“We’ve shown that this approach works at the lab scale, but we really need to scale it up,” he said.

Earning the Department of Energy research award to work with Los Alamos National Laboratory will help Sutton do just that. He will work with advisor Jeffrey Hyman to learn more about how the Los Alamos team does their modeling, then use those theories to approach his own research, perhaps creating a hybrid model between his work and that of the Los Alamos team.

“The hope is that you can combine the two and this actually does work at a larger scale, and it works very well,” he said.

Sutton studied geology as an undergraduate at the University of Tennessee at Martin, then earned a master’s from Auburn University specializing in hydrogeology. While he wanted to continue doing research after his master’s, he also wanted to see what it was like to work in hydrogeology professionally.

After working for two years in environmental consulting, Sutton’s interest in returning to research got stronger. His professional experience led him to realize there were a lot of topics in hydrogeology that no one fully understands.

“There’s this need for people who understand hydrogeology and also want to do research, because there’s a very human-level application to this, where learning more and having people trying to push the boundaries is important for all of us,” Sutton said.

Sutton expressed thanks to the mentors, professors, UW–Madison geology graduate students, and the wider community who have helped him along his journey to where he is now. In the long term, he hopes this work will lead to better modeling that can accurately predict fracture networks, which could help environmental companies better know how quickly and where a contaminant might move if it gets into a fracture network.

“My goal with this is that we can upscale it in a way that enables industry or regulators to be able to model fractures in a way that’s quick and efficient, but also gives them enough detail and enough guarantee that we’re pretty good with how we can predict what’s happening in fractures,” he said.

Sutton said he is excited for his time at Los Alamos National Laboratory – although he is also sad to leave Madison for those months – and sees the experience as a key piece of his academic and professional development experience.

“I get to network with people who are really industry-leading, academic-leading people in this field of fracture network modeling,” he said. “For me, it’s very much the next step of, okay, I’ve done this at UW at the lab scale, can I grow my professional or academic skillset to go up to this next level?”

Chemical and Biological Engineering PhD student Seth Anderson also received the Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research Award. Read more about Anderson’s research from the College of Engineering .

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